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Bay Area Arts and Entertainment BlogMon, 30 Mar 2015 12:40:46 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1Is the third time the charm with Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel?http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2012/12/11/is-the-third-time-the-charm-with-army-of-two-the-devils-cartel/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2012/12/11/is-the-third-time-the-charm-with-army-of-two-the-devils-cartel/#commentsTue, 11 Dec 2012 18:15:15 +0000Gieson Cachohttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=25109
It’s hard to believe that there’s a third Army of Two game coming out. It makes you wonder how this happens. The premise of the franchise has always been rock solid. The buddy co-op experience is smart in concept; it… Continue Reading →]]>
It’s hard to believe that there’s a third Army of Two game coming out. It makes you wonder how this happens. The premise of the franchise has always been rock solid. The buddy co-op experience is smart in concept; it was the execution that was always off.
The problem is that the series never found the right tone between the two protagonists -- Salem and Rios. The first game was an action flick with frat house humor. In the sequel, Army of Two: The 40th Day, EA Montreal took a more serious, brooding tack, taking the pair on a dark journey in Shanghai.
The latest entry, Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel, seems more like a reboot of sorts. First off, there are two new protagonists Alpha and Bravo. They’re rookies working for Salem and Rios. The adventure takes place in Mexico as the newly assembled team are looking for kidnapped women across the border.
New protagonists Alpha and Bravo join Salem and Rios in Mexico.
This time around, the action is fast-paced and more arcadelike as Alpha and Bravo shoot up a small town in Mexico, searching for the captured women. Words pop out as players score different kind of kills. The variety of frags is reminiscent of Bulletstorm while players take out gangsters and score points. Speaking of which a lot of the characters look like stereotypes from the shot callers to the grunts.
As for controls, Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel plays more like the first game. There's less of a focus on collaborative strategy and elaborate moves. Players will have a dedicated cover button that they'll need to use to flank enemies in carefully crafted levels that encourages Alpha to fire at enemies to get their attention while Bravo sneaks around to hit them at their sides.
Players will be battling the Mexican cartels, which look a bit stereotyped.
Another wrinkle in shooter's level design is that it allows the partners to stray away from each other. In fact, there are points in the stage where Alpha and Bravo both go their separate ways. They slaughter whomever is in their way and meet up farther in the stage. Depending on how fast one guy is, it creates some interesting moments where the better player can be attacking squads from the rear and helping his buddy who may linger behind.
EA Montreal use the Frostbite 2 engine to create more dynamic environments with destructible cover. It's easy for players to blast wooden barrels and force enemies to move. There's also plenty of gas canisters. But the biggest change is the Overkill system, which is a power that lets Alpha or Bravo be invincible and gun down enemies more quickly. In Overkill, players also have unlimited ammo and grenades and they don't need to reload. If Alpha and Bravo activate Overkill at the same time, it creates a Double Overkill situation where time slows down making it easier to fire on enemies.
The Frostbite 2 engine allows Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel to have more dynamic environments with destructible cover.
With the focus more on scoring and co-opetition, it'll be another approach for the series. Whether it will be successful enough is hard to say though. It'll depend on if fans like this new approach to the series. Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel is scheduled for release March 26, 2013.
BONUS POINTS
To be honest, I don't really like the direction the series is taking. Some of the old co-op moves like the back-to-back and the fake surrender won't be in The Devil's Cartel while other ones (the shield and gun combo) are back in. Those moves are part of what makes the Army of Two series so unique. It's a disappointment that the full arsenal of tactics won't be in there.
The other notable announcement is that Big Boi and B.o.B. are teaming up to release a song for the game. Not only that, they're actually going to be in-game characters. That's a more compelling way for artists to interact with a property. It's better than just writing a song and occasionally performing it at award shows ...
Last thought, there were two endings for previous game. *Spoiler alert* One let you kill your partner, the other let him survive but it could have destroyed all the innocent lives in Shanghai. It was one of the more memorable decisions in a game. I asked the producer about it and Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel takes place after the events of The 40th Day. Apparently, the ending where Rios and Salem both live is the true one.
Images courtesy of Electronic ArtsWant to know what Gieson Cacho is playing? Follow him on Twitter. ]]>http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2012/12/11/is-the-third-time-the-charm-with-army-of-two-the-devils-cartel/feed/0Ao2 Dec 03Ao2 Dec 06Ao2 Dec 07By: TwitterButtons.comCelebrity Photos: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Bridget Marquardt, Claire Danes, Juliette Lewishttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/08/17/celebrity-photos-jennifer-aniston-jason-bateman-bridget-marquardt-claire-danes-juliette-lewis/
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2010/08/17/celebrity-photos-jennifer-aniston-jason-bateman-bridget-marquardt-claire-danes-juliette-lewis/#commentsWed, 18 Aug 2010 00:01:55 +0000Karim Amarahttp://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/?p=19421
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